1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a longitudinal continuous furnace or kiln for drying and vulcanizing rubber profiles with the purpose of allowing the drying and vulcanization of rubber profiles, but which can also be equally well be utilized for performing the drying of products continuously, and in particular of products intended for vehicular purposes and automation. This invention will find application in the industry devoted to the manufacture of longitudinal kilns.
2. Brief Description of the Background of the Invention Including Prior Art
A plurality of furnaces and kilns, be they longitudinal or not, operating in a continuous way, for drying and vulcanizing different products, such as, for example, rubber profiles, are known.
The existing kilns, at least those known to the applicant, do not offer a possibility of effecting an exchange of heat energy of the air mass of an upper chamber to profiles moving within a lower chamber, thus obtaining a heat exchange of the highest efficiency.
It is also noted that the larger part of the longitudinal furnaces employed at present are applied in a way to achieve the desired objective.
Nevertheless, all furnaces and kilns known do not exhibit the possibility to perform an exchange of the thermal energy of the air mass of the upper chamber to the profile which moves in the lower chamber in achieving in the following an exchange with the highest efficiency possible.
Up to the present, the methods employed in the drying and vulcanizing of profiles of synthetic rubber in a continuous way have been:
Continuous vulcanization in chambers made free from nitrates and nitrites.
Vulcanization in a continuous bed with microballs made up of glass compositions.
Continuous vulcanization with microwaves combined with a conventional furnace employing hot air.
Vulcanization on small pillows of sheet metal pieces with hot air.
Furnaces of hot air employed for vulcanization only.
The Koch kiln as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,592 for the drying of coverings.
Of these recited furnaces, the first five employ different processes which are remote from those employed according to the present invention. Perhaps the furnace taught by Koch comes closest to the present invention, even though the Koch kiln exhibits substantial differences from the system of the present invention.